In 585, B.C.E., Lydians and Medes fought a battle in Mesopotamia (Iraq) in the first ever battle for which a date was established. The battle stopped at its height as there was a total solar eclipse on this day, as predicted by Thales Miletus.

In 1533, England's Archbishop declared the marriage of King Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn valid.

In 1664, The first Baptist Church was organized in Boston.

In 1672, Boston MA declared war on the Dutch.

In 1774, The first Continental Congress convened in Virginia.

In 1818, The "Walk-in-the-Water", the first steam-vessel to sail the Great Lakes, is launched from Black Rock N.Y.

In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signs into law the Removal Act, which mandates that all Indians resettle west of the Mississippi River.

In 1863, The first black regiment from the North left Boston to fight in the Civil War.

In 1888, The greatest American athlete of the half-century, James Francis "Jim" Thorpe, a full blooded Cherokee indian, was bprn in Prague OK. He was the first president of the NFL. He died March 28, 1953 at the age of 64.

In 1892, The Sierra Club was organized in San Francisco by John Muir.

In 1897, Jell-o is introduced.

In 1908, James Bond creator/author Ian Lancaster Fleming was born in London, England. He died August 12, 1964 at the age of 56.

In 1915, John B Gruelle patents Raggedy Ann doll

In 1923, The U.S. Attorney General decides it is legal for women to wear trousers where and when they please.

In 1928, Automobile builder Walter P. Chrysler merged his Chrysler Corporation with Dodge Brothers, Inc., founded by John and Horace Dodge; the merger was the largest automobile industry merger in history at the time, placing the newly consolidated firm third in production and sales, just behind General Motors and Ford Motor Company.

In 1929, The first all-color talking picture, "On with the Show," opened in New York City at the Winter Garden theater. .

In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushed a button in Washington, D.C., signaling that vehicular traffic could cross the just-opened Golden Gate Bridge in California.

In 1937, Neville Chamberlain became prime minister of Britain.

In 1940, During World War II, the Belgian army surrendered to invading German forces; King Leopold III gave himself up.

In 1945, William Joyce known in Britain as "Lord Haw Haw," a traitor who had broadcast from Nazi Germany throughout World War Two, was captured near Hamburg.

In 1951, After going 0-for-12, Willie Mays connects for his 1st homerun (also his 1st major league hit)

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill which added the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance.

In 1955, "Billboard" reported that "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" was the most popular song in the U.S.

In 1956, President Dwight David Eisenhower signs a farm bill that allows the government to store agricultural surplus

In 1959, Monkeys Able & Baker zoom 300 miles (500 km) into space on board a Jupiter missile, and became the first animals retrieved from a space mission

In 1961, Amnesty International is founded (Nobel Peace Prize 1977) by lawyer Peter Berenson.

In 1964, The unmanned Apollo 2/Saturn test was launched into Earth orbit

In 1964, The Palestine National Congress met to form the PLO.

In 1972, King Edward VIII Of Great Britian, who became The Duke of Windsor after he had abdicated the English throne to marry Wallis Warfield Simpson, died in Paris at age 77.

In 1977, 165 people were killed when fire raced through the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Ky.

In 1979, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund held a news conference to announce plans for a memorial honoring those who served in the war.

In 1982, The legendary train, "Orient Express", made popular through Agatha Christie's thrilling mystery novel, "Murder on the Orient Express", was reborn this day. The 26-hour train trip resumed across the European continent after a long respite.

In 1984, President Reagan led a state funeral at Arlington National Cemetery for an unidentified American soldier killed in the Vietnam War. (However, the remains were later identified as those of Air Force First Lieutenant Michael J. Blassie, and were sent to St. Louis for hometown burial.)

In 1985, The first issue of "Vanity Fair" magazine went on sale. The issue had a picture of U.S. President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy smooching on the cover.

In 1987, Mathias Rust (mah-TEE'-uhs rust), a 19-year-old West German pilot, stunned the world as he landed a private plane undetected in Moscow's Red Square after evading Soviet air defenses. Three days later, the Soviet defense minister and his deputy were fired. He was sentenced to four years of hard labor but was released after 11 months.

In 1991, U.S. Defense Secretary Dick Cheney and other NATO defense chiefs agreed to create a rapid reaction corps as part of a broad plan to reshape the Western alliance in the post-Cold War era.

In 1998, Actor Phil Hartman was slain by his wife, Brynn, who also commited suicide. He was 49 years old. He was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada on September 24, 1948.

Ten years ago (1994):

Palestine Liberation Organization officials announced that Yasser Arafat had named himself interior minister of the autonomous zones as part of an interim government; 14 other prominent Palestinians, mostly Arafat allies, were appointed to other positions.